If I Fall
by TresMaxwell
Summary: It's the rule they all know as well as they know their code names: If another pilot falls, they're to be left behind. But when it's Duo, Heero can't just walk away. Heero/Duo Oneshot, Yaoi, Lemon


Title: If I Fall

Fandom: Gundam Wing

Pairing: Heero/Duo

Rating: M, for good reason

Gunfire rained down around them like God's retribution. Two pairs of feet slapped down the cement runway at a rapid pace, the rhythm punctuated only by sharp intakes of breath and the occasional twang of a ricocheted bullet missing its target. Heero was trying to sort out what went wrong. He and Duo executed a flawless entrance into the base, never got spotted while they were inside, and managed to complete the mission without detection. It wasn't until they were on the way out that the alarm siren pierced the air. Now, they had soldiers swarming in their wake and bullets hissing through the air by their ears.

Heero's breathing was regular and maintained, kept that way by his extensive training, but he could hear Duo panting a few steps behind him. The other boy wasn't at the same fitness level as Heero. Duo was in great shape, compared to most, but sprinting well over eight-hundred yards was trying for even him. Heero mentally encouraged him.

They weren't far from the cover of the city. If Duo could just make it to the line of buildings, there'd be numerous places for them to hide and recuperate. Heero picked up the pace as they got closer to safety. He easily vaulted the perimeter fence and darted into an industrial park, immediately scanning the area for cover.

"We need to work our way south. Maybe we can steal a car," Heero mused.

Duo didn't answer him, which was bizarre. Even out of breath, Duo always had something to say.

"Did you hear me?"

Silence followed his question. Heero turned, hoping to see Duo doubled over in exhaustion and unable to respond. Instead, there was nothing but an empty warehouse lot.

Heero knew he shouldn't go back. If Duo had been captured, Heero wasn't supposed to endanger himself to save him. His training firmly stated that his first priority was the mission and the second was himself, there were no other priorities. The other pilots were taught the same.

He felt something wrench loose in his chest. Whatever it was, it was much more painful than breaking a bone or taking a bullet. Heero tried to turn and walk away, but he stayed firmly rooted in place. Against his better judgment, Heero stepped out from the line of buildings, exposing himself to potential gunfire. He could see the soldiers milling in groups near the perimeter, searching for them, but Duo was nowhere in sight.

Heero ducked behind a stack of wooden pallets and ran a hand though his hair, his stomach twisting sharply. He couldn't go back; it was against every principle of his training. Dr. J's words echoed loudly in his head, 'You are a weapon, and we cannot have our weapon in the hands of our enemies,' but something rooted deep wouldn't let him leave. He tried to reason with this strange stubbornness, after all, he hadn't even known Duo all that long. Despite that, Heero stuck his head out and surveyed the area again.

Where the base's runway ended, there was a small, grassy drop speckled with under-grown bushes. A dark shape huddled in the shadows, only a few yards from a cluster of soldiers. Heero narrowed his eyes, trying to separate Duo's frame from the darkness. As if on cue, the glaring searchlights briefly illuminated a black-clad leg.

Heero weighed the risks. There was an insignificantly tiny chance that he could climb the fence without being spotted, let alone climb the fence, rouse Duo from his hiding place, and get back undercover before they acquired enough bullet wounds to be considered human sieves. He would need a little leverage before he could raise his chances of success. His eyes shifted around the alley, looking for something, anything he could use.

Poking out from under a ratty tarp was the perfect weapon. It only took seconds to hotwire and few more to rev it up and aim it towards the base. Heero gave a last ditch effort to talk himself out of his madness, then stepped on the gas pedal. The truck barely hitched as it crashed through the fence and careened onto the cracked runway. Heero jerked the wheel hard, slamming into several well-armed men and positioning the truck between Duo and the rest of the soldiers. He leapt from the cab and cracked off a couple shots in the direction of the base, making their assailants dive for cover.

"What are you doing?" he yelled at Duo. "We have to get out of here."

The other boy gave Heero a wide-eyed stare, "What the hell are YOU doing?"

Duo was clutching his leg tightly, crimson blooming between his fingers. One of the bullets had found its target. Since there wasn't enough time for field treatment, Heero hauled Duo to his feet and all but threw him in the truck. The longhaired boy cried out at the rough handling.

"Watch it!" Duo whined.

The truck lurched as Heero slammed it into gear and peeled out. Duo's head connected solidly with the passenger window. He cursed and belatedly reached for his seatbelt.

Bullets hammered the sides of the truck like hail, shattering the back window. Heero reached across the cab and pushed Duo almost in half, growling, "Get down." As the words left his mouth, blood exploded across the front windshield and the safety glass fractured into an angular web. Heero clutched his arm, blood streaming down his bicep.

"Shit," Duo shouted, "You get the wheel, I got this."

Heero kept his eyes on the road, but heard Duo rip up something to bandage his wound. As he took a corner at top speed, Duo careened into him, his chest falling into Heero's bad arm. Duo cussed and Heero's eye twitched slightly. Despite being thrown around the cab like a rag doll, Duo managed to get a strip of cloth tied around Heero's arm. He yanked at the ends to tighten it. When Duo was done, Heero put his hand back on the steering wheel.

Only once the sounds of gunfire and sirens had faded into the distance did Heero slow down. They needed a safe house. Heero knew that Duo wouldn't be able to keep up with a bullet wound like that and his arm was still seeping beneath Duo's makeshift bandage. They needed to stop and give each other some stitches.

Heero glanced at his companion out of the corner of his eye. The other boy was leaning against the door, his brow furrowed as though he was deep in thought. Heero had a good guess as to what he was thinking about: Why had Heero come back for him? Heero was busy wondering that himself.

When Duo's amethyst gaze slid in his direction, Heero looked back to the road. He didn't know what he'd say if Duo asked him why he'd done it. A few options flickered through his head, but nothing that made any real sense… or, at least nothing that Duo wouldn't call him on. Some people didn't give Duo much credit, but he was brilliant. Heero knew he couldn't just bullshit his way out of this. He broke THE cardinal rule…

Thankfully, Duo was silent through most of the ride. Heero drove thirty miles before he was satisfied that they'd put enough distance between them and the base, then he started running the mission parameters through his head. They had a fall back point established. Heero peered at street signs as he passed them, trying to get a feel for their location.

"We should ditch this truck," Duo said softly.

Heero pulled into a quiet, under lit parking lot and guided the vehicle into a slot. The engine coughed when he cut it off, the metal ticking as it cooled. Nothing moved in the dark around them. There were only a handful of cars in the parking lot, all of them much closer to the five-story building that had a law firm logo blazing at the top. As late as it was, Heero suspected that all the remaining cars belonged to the cleaning crew or the security. There didn't seem to be any cameras at the perimeter of the lot, and the only one he saw on the building was aimed at the door.

He was busy deciding on what car to take next when Duo let the question fall, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Quirking his brow slightly, Heero looked over at him, "When?"

"When you bought me bunny slippers for Christmas," Duo's sarcasm practically dripped from his words. "When you drove this fucking truck through that fence after you were already clear? What do you think?"

"I thought you liked the bunny slippers," Heero joked flatly, knowing it wouldn't buy him any real time. His eyes continued to roam over the parking lot.

"Heero, damn it!" There was anger and frustration in Duo's tone, but something else too, something more like panic.

Heero decided that he needed time to think. Instead of answering Duo, he got out of the car and came around to the passenger side. Duo continued to gripe at him as he pulled the other boy's arm over his shoulder and helped him out of the truck. Duo stumbled on the foot-runner and he fell against Heero. Wincing, Duo grabbed his leg.

A siren wailed in the distance, making both of them freeze. It had the distinct pitch of an ambulance, but it still urged them to move a little faster. Heero wrapped his arm around Duo's waist and grabbed his belt on the far side to help lift his weight off his leg. They stumbled over to a black Corolla a few spaces away. Heero jimmied the lock with a serrated pocketknife and hoisted Duo into the passenger seat. As he came around to the driver's side, Duo leaned across to let him in.

"There's a safe house set up on the east side of town," Heero stated while sliding into the seat.

He took a moment to adjust the mirrors and the steering wheel before yanking the plastic covering off of the wiring underneath. Working in silence was normal for Heero, but the silence now felt weighted as if he was at the bottom of a lake. A small amount of dread was building in his stomach. When they got to the safe house, he'd better have an answer ready for Duo. Heero didn't understand the terror that had gripped him when he realized Duo wasn't with him, so how could he possibly begin to explain it?

"Who set it up?"

Assuming he meant the safe house, Heero said, "Doesn't matter. They're trustworthy."

Heero barely touched two exposed wires together to send the signal to the engine. It chugged and whined and finally started. A rock and roll song screamed from the speakers, which Duo immediately switched off. Twisting the wires to keep them in place, Heero yanked the blue fuzzy dice off the mirror with his other hand and put the car in reverse. The tires squealed slightly as he stepped on the gas. Wisely, Duo strapped on his seatbelt this time and settled back in his seat with a pained moan.

After a few minutes on the road, Duo turned the stereo back on, but cranked the volume down so it wasn't quite so offensive to the ears. The music seemed angry to Heero. He only paid it partial attention, but the lyrics the singer was howling were about loss and death and the eventual suicide that came with it. Heero snorted at the absurdity of it.

"Jesus," Duo complained. "Doesn't this guy have anything better to listen to?"

Duo started flipping channels, pausing on a newscaster that was droning about the war. Another newscaster interrupted him when he brought up the Gundam pilots, the second one asking, "But are their actions considered to be in line with people's wishes? They cause massive damage, countless casualties-"

The first man cut back in, "You act like these pilots aren't under orders. You've heard the rumors, seen the footage of them. They're just kids. They're not the ones who are answering to the general public; it's whoever gives them their orders."

"The fact that they're kids has nothing to do with it. There were members of the Nazi regime that were just kids and they were just as well trained as the adults…"

Looking over at Duo's troubled expression, Heero cut the radio off.

"Hey, I was listening to-"

"We're here," Heero said quickly, pulling the stolen car into an alley as close to the safe house as he dared. It was a mile closer that he would normally feel comfortable leaving a getaway car, but Duo wasn't going to be able to walk miles and they were going to draw attention to themselves if Heero had to carry him that far. Heero hoped he could manage a few blocks.

As Heero walked around the car to get Duo, he surveyed the alley cautiously. It wasn't the best area. Actually, it was an area that most people would be afraid to go on their own, especially after dark. Even in the dim light from the street, Heero could see the various gang tags sprayed over the brick walls and the sides of the dumpster crouching near the end of the block. It was the perfect place to leave a stolen car.

Reaching to the small of his back, Heero pulled a gun out of the waistband of his pants. He yanked open the passenger door, handing the gun to Duo before he moved to help him out. If he was holding Duo up, it would be a little more difficult to get to the weapon if he needed it. Duo took it without a word, stashing it in the front of his black jeans and pulling his shirt down over it.

"If we get mugged, I'm gonna be pissed," Duo said through gritted teeth, smiling through his pain.

Like before, Heero grabbed Duo's belt to hold him up. Duo's braid whispered along his skin as he got Duo's arm positioned over his shoulders. His own bicep was aching, but he easily pushed that into the back of his head. Heero hadn't gotten a chance to look at it, but he knew the bullet had torn through. The wound was a little too big to be called a graze, though, just barely.

They took the first block quickly, staggering now and again as Duo's legs gave out. Heero knew how much pain he was in by how quiet he was. Duo complained through everything, or at least gave life a running commentary. Every time he moved his leg, the bullet was shifting inside of it. Heero knew firsthand how excruciating that was. The difference was that Heero was trained from the time he could toddle to ignore and isolate pain, while Duo didn't start his training until he was twelve and most of it was focused on piloting.

At the edge of the alley, Heero stopped so he could take a look down the open street they had to cross. A beat up Chevy with one headlight out rolled by them. Heero pulled them both tight against the wall as it passed so they weren't illuminated. Duo's head lolled on his shoulder while they waited for the car to disappear from sight, his sharp breathing rolling across Heero's neck in waves.

A slim figure moved in the shadow of one of the buildings. Heero stayed stock still, waiting for something, anything to happen. When the guy lit a cigarette, Heero almost let out a sigh of relief. No operative would ever give away his position by using a lighter. Before he could decide whether or not to risk crossing the street, someone came out of one of the tightly clustered apartment buildings and went to the figure in the shadows. Heero couldn't hear what they said from the distance he was at, but he saw them exchange something discretely.

Heero gently lowered Duo to the ground, whispering, "Stay here."

"What? Why? Where're you going?" Despite his pain, Duo was very alert. He grabbed the front of Heero's shirt when the other pilot didn't answer. "Where are you going?" he hissed again, his voice rising so it was a little above a whisper.

Heero removed Duo's hand from him easily and trotted out into the street. Shoving his hands deep in his pockets to feel for his money as well as look the part, Heero crossed the street at an angle to get to the drug dealer. He cast a glance over his shoulder as he approached to make it seem like he was scoping the area for police. The dealer didn't bolt, but Heero wasn't old enough to look like he could be a cop.

Even in the darkness, Heero could see a few dozen piercings speckling the guy's face and ears. They glinted as he turned to take in Heero. "What'cha looking for?" the dealer asked in a low tone, his cigarette bobbing on his lip with his words.

Heero kept his distance, saying, "Painkillers. Hydrocodone or Vicodin if you've got it."

The dealer produced a small baggy from his pocket with six pills in it, "Eighty bucks."

Heero pulled out his cash and pressed it into the man's hand, taking the baggy in the same move. He wanted to argue the price, but he knew that he'd inevitably end up getting pissed and chase the dealer off or get into a fight with him and he had no idea how long it would take him to find another one. Heero turned to walk away, but the dealer called him back.

"You know, I've got some better shit here," he mentioned slyly, holding out another bag with white powder in it. His grin made Heero want to shoot him on principle. "First bag is free."

Ignoring him, Heero went back to the alley. He shoved the medication in his back pocket before leaning down to help Duo to his feet.

"Did you seriously just buy something from him?" Duo grunted as he got his arm positioned on Heero's shoulders.

"Not what you think." When Duo gave him a long, speculative look, Heero elaborated, "Just some painkillers. You're going to need them."

Duo shook his head, stifling a groan as he put too much weight on his wounded leg, "I shouldn't be drugged. I won't be any good if something happens."

"I'll keep watch," Heero answered before Duo could finish speaking.

They moved out into the street, Heero keeping a careful eye on the dealer. The man didn't disappoint him. Almost as soon as they were in sight, the dealer put out his cigarette on the wall and walked towards them.

"Hey. Hey, man, if you share a piece of that, I'll give you a week's supply for free."

"Is he trying to buy my ass?" Duo muttered, hand going to the gun under his shirt.

Heero got them to the far side of the street, the dealer tailing slowly behind them. The man continued to berate them, offering Heero a slew of different drugs by their street names. When Heero had ignored him long enough, the dealer cut around in front of them and blocked their way down the alley.

"Fuck off," Heero growled, glaring at him with as much ferocity as he could muster.

It would have made most men back away, but this one wasn't afraid. He'd probably dealt with plenty of gangsters and addicts in the past, so kid with an attitude problem wasn't that intimidating. Heero was beginning to wish that he'd brought a silencer with him.

"You little punk-ass shit. You think you're pretty tough, don't you?" the dealer sneered, reaching out for Duo. When Duo jerked away from him, he grinned, "But you do pick some fine ass. I'll make a deal with you, you let me fuck him and I won't beat the shit out of you."

Duo started to pull the gun, but Heero grabbed his wrist and shook his head minutely. Slowly, Heero slipped Duo's arm off his shoulder, letting the smaller boy take his own weight a little at a time. When he was certain he could stand on his own, Heero stepped away from him, lifting his head as he walked towards the dealer.

In a deadly monotone, Heero said, "Move or I'll kill you."

"I don't think you get it," he responded, whipping out a butterfly knife that was three inches long.

Watching him handle it, Heero was certain he'd never used it on anyone. He held it forward stiffly, using it solely as a tool for intimidation. If he was serious about cutting them up, he'd flip it backwards in his hand so he could slash with it more effectively. Heero had a similar knife when he was a child, but had learned early that using a blade was messy. It was much cleaner to use his hands.

Before the dealer could even process what was going on, Heero darted forward and struck his throat with the side of his hand. He felt the windpipe collapse beneath the attack, but followed it up by bringing his knee into the dealer's ribcage twice. The crunch of bone was muffled by flesh and cloth. The dealer fell to his knees, struggling to draw breath even as he was bleeding out internally.

Once he was down, Heero took his money, digging around to see if he had anything else useful. Most of the utility pockets on his cargo pants were filled with the expected plethora of drugs, but Heero did salvage a few more Hydrocodone pills, a Swiss army knife, and a condom.

Duo didn't miss the last item, "Was that a condom?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you need a condom?"

Heero shrugged and got up, "You never know." As nonchalant as he was trying to make it, he had something like hope hanging on the condom that he wasn't going to bring up in a seedy back alley while they stood over a drug dealer's dead body.

"Should I warn Relena?" Duo joked, though his voice was tinted with an emotion Heero couldn't place.

The comment made Heero angrier than it should have. He could feel it burning in the back of his mind, but he pushed it away. There wasn't any time to argue. It would only be minutes before someone else came looking for the dealer and he didn't want them to be there when that happened. Heero dragged the body to the edge of the alley, stashing it behind a few trashcans.

"Come on, let's go," Heero said as he returned to Duo's side.

The last few blocks were a challenge. Duo was exhausted and Heero was starting to lose the strength in his fingers from holding Duo up. Fortunately, no one else bothered them. The streets and back alleys were deserted, except for a cat that they startled out of a doorframe. It hissed at them and ran beneath a parked car.

Heero finally stopped at a brick stairwell that led up into one of the buildings, prying a brick loose with his knife. Inside the hollow was a key. He dropped it in Duo's palm and put the brick back in place.

Duo laughed weakly, "That's sophisticated."

"Sometimes they rig the drop box with explosives so nobody else can get it," Heero admitted with a shrug. "Just not today."

"Keeps you on your toes, I guess."

They struggled up the stairwell and stopped on the landing inside. The lighting in the meager lobby left everything looking yellow and faded. A few crumpled up fast food wrappers were clustered in the corner under the mailboxes and the wallpaper was peeling at every edge. Heero tried not to analyze the smell of the place, but couldn't help to pick up sweat, and urine, and mold. Someone coughed heavily behind one of the apartment doors. Sadly, he'd had safe houses in worse locations.

"Lem'me guess, we're not on the ground floor…" Duo sighed, his eyes stuck on the staircase.

"Third."

"Awesome."

Heero eyed the stairs, making calculations in his head. He was tired, probably more so than he had been in a long time, but he determined that carrying Duo outright would consume less energy than hoisting him up each step in turn. He didn't ask, because he knew Duo wouldn't be pleased with the idea, so he just reached down to slide his arm behind the longhaired boy's knees. The argument Heero was expecting never came. With a quiet whimper of pain, Duo wound his arms around Heero's neck and buried his face in his shoulder.

Duo's voice was muffled as he said, "Don't you ever, ever tell anybody that I let you carry me."

A smirk touched Heero's lips, but he didn't answer. He carried Duo upstairs, wandering the third floor hallway looking for the apartment number he'd gotten with his mission description. It was at the end near an open window. The frayed green carpet that ran the length of the hall was completely torn up in front of the door, exposing the plywood underneath. The brass '38' bolted to the doorframe was so tarnished that it was nearly the same color as the wood.

Without being prompted, Duo stuck the key in the lock and pushed the door open. Heero carried the smaller boy into the sparsely furnished apartment, leaving him on a stained couch before going back to close and lock the door. He searched the drab space thoroughly, sticking his head into the narrow bathroom and opening the closets in the bedroom and hall. After he'd checked the fire escape outside the bedroom window, he went back to the bathroom to get a first-aid kit out from under the sink. There was always one in the same place, unless the bathroom didn't have any cabinets, then it was usually stashed in the kitchen. Heero started to close the cabinet, but grabbed one of the towels as an afterthought.

Duo had already taken his jeans off by the time Heero got back to the living room, the gun laying on the shabby piece of workmanship that served as a coffee table. A thin trickle of fresh blood ran down Duo's thigh, but the rest of it was coagulated and clung to his skin in thick clots. Heero spread out the kit on the couch, grabbing a pair of tweezers and a compress before he knelt in front of Duo's leg. Duo settled back into the couch so he wasn't blocking Heero's light.

"You want something to bite down on?" Heero asked as he examined the bullet hole. As far as he could tell, it hadn't gone all the way to the bone.

"Nah, I'm fine. Just get it out." Duo looked away as Heero slid the tweezers into the narrow wound, fisting his hands in the couch cushions. While Heero fished for the bullet, Duo said, "You still haven't told me why you came back."

Heero's brow furrowed unconsciously. Using the defense that he was focused on what he was doing; he ignored Duo until he drew the bullet out and pressed the compress against the renewed flow of blood. Then suturing the wound seemed like a good excuse, so he sterilized a needle out of the kit and put three stitches across the hole to close it up and wrapped Duo's thigh in gauze.

When he didn't have anything else left to do, Heero looked up into Duo's searching eyes, admitting miserably, "I don't know."

Even as Duo started to say, "What do you mean you don't know? You never do anything without thinking it through," Heero gathered up the medical kit and took it into the bathroom so he could work on his own wound.

Heero dropped the supplies on the counter, not caring that some of them spilled in the sink. Anger welled in him, making his muscles tense. He gripped the edge of the sink hard enough to make the blood drain out of his hands and stared at his reflection in the pockmarked mirror.

He was never uncertain. Every day, he made decisions on a split-second timeframe and he never doubted his choices, but there was some other factor Heero didn't understand that made him go back for Duo. What bothered him the most was that the decision was based out of a part of himself that he'd been taught not to use.

"Heero?" Duo called from the living room, his tone cautious.

"I'm fine," he responded flatly.

He grabbed a small bottle of iodine out of the mess on the counter and held his arm over the sink so he could pour the liquid into it. The sharp sting it produced barely registered. As he was getting a needle ready, Duo appeared in the doorway. Heero glanced at the other pilot through the mirror and advised, "You should keep weight off your leg."

Duo planted a hand on either side of the doorframe to block Heero into the tiny bathroom, not that it would be difficult for Heero to get past him when he was so weak. When Duo was at his best, it might have been a bit of a struggle, but Heero knew Duo was barely holding himself upright.

With an expression more serious than Heero had ever seen on Duo's face, the smaller man asked again, "Why did you come back?"

Heero dropped his eyes to the sink and leaned heavily on the counter. He had a reason worked out that was based entirely in logic, but he knew it wasn't true and Duo would know too. He felt protective towards Duo, a fierce possessiveness that had started the moment Duo had come into his life but had manifested for the first time outside of the base today.

When the silence had stretched taught between them, Duo whispered, "You're not supposed to stop if I fall, you're not even supposed to look back."

Something in Heero snapped. He pushed Duo out of the doorway and into the opposite wall, pinning him roughly. Duo's little cry of pain was swallowed as Heero's mouth crashed against his. Their kiss was savage with desperation.

Duo's hands went to the back of Heero's head, winding in the hair there. Instead of yanking him off, he pulled the other pilot closer. Their tongues slid and tangled. Heero pushed his hands down Duo's back, drawing Duo tight against him. When his hands reached Duo's ass, Heero gripped the flesh and muscle beneath the thin material of Duo's boxers. Heero lifted him and Duo obliged by wrapping his legs around Heero's hips, his pained groan lost in their kiss.

"Oh, fuck," Duo breathed, biting Heero's lower lip. "Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck."

Bracing one arm beneath Duo's ass to hold him up, Heero shifted his other hand across Duo's trembling stomach and down to his growing erection. He palmed it roughly through Duo's boxers. In the back of his mind, he tried to analyze when his need for Duo had grown this strong and uncontrollable. He couldn't reign himself back in… didn't want to.

Duo leaned back against the wall and stripped his shirt over his head. The moment his flushed chest was exposed, Heero attacked. He licked Duo's skin, tasting the salt of his sweat and reveling in the shudder that moved up Duo's body as he teased him. Duo's hands pulled at his shirt. He wasn't really trying to get it off, just yanking at the fabric and winding it around his fist. When Heero had tasted almost every square inch of Duo's chest, he finally leaned back so Duo could rip his shirt off of one arm and his head. It hung limply from the arm he was using to hold Duo up.

The approval he saw in Duo's eyes made a shock of lust travel through him. It was a look he'd always wanted to see. No, it was a look he needed to see, to know that Duo wanted him. He'd suffered with his desires, not understanding them and not a clue how to go about learning. The unabashed longing he found in Duo's gaze made those desires into something tangible because Duo felt them too.

Heero humped against him without really realizing he was doing it. He wanted more, needed more. He wanted to be buried so deeply in Duo that they forgot where one ended and the other began. And, if the sounds Duo was making were anything to go by, he was pretty certain that Duo wanted the same.

Heero ripped Duo's boxers trying to get them off, but the longhaired boy wasn't complaining. All he could seem to do was moan into Heero's mouth as he drove his hips against Heero's rough thrusting. Judging by the trembling in Duo's wounded leg Heero didn't think that he'd be able to keep up their position much longer. Heero's right arm ached fiercely from the strain, though it wasn't enough to stop him. He knew Duo wouldn't say anything, but it would make things easier for both of them if they finished this in bed.

Heero managed to withdraw from Duo's covetous mouth and mumbled, "Bed."

Nodding, Duo continued to gasp and grind against Heero. For a moment, they didn't move. Heero braced himself up with the wall, fingers spread wide on the stained wallpaper, and snapped his hips against the smaller boy a few more times. He felt Duo's hands slide into the back of his pants and growled slightly as Duo's nails scraped against his ass.

"Bed," Duo breathed against his ear. "Fuck, now Heero."

Finding a store of energy he didn't realize he had, Heero lifted Duo's weight off the wall and carried him down the hall. He dropped the other boy on the bed, but left to get something to slick him up. Ignoring Duo's questioning call, he rummaged through the bathroom drawers and cabinets until he found a half-used tub of Vaseline. He didn't want to think about where the other half went.

When he came back into the bedroom, he paused at the sight he was greeted with. Duo had stripped out of everything and was lying on the bed with his legs spread, knees bent slightly. Beneath him, his long hair was in disarray. It hadn't come completely undone, but it was close, loose locks curling in endless patterns on the sheets. There was something vulnerable about his expression that made the possessiveness well inside of Heero. No one else should ever see Duo like this, this was meant for him.

His fierce eyes stuck on Duo, Heero shed the rest of his clothing quickly, tossing the condom from his pocket onto the bed. He scraped a glob of Vaseline out of the tub before he dropped it on the floor. As he crawled over Duo's pale, bruised body, he lavished it with licks and kisses. To distract Duo, he gently bit one of the boy's perk nipples as he slid a few fingers inside of him. Duo arced under him, but relaxed his interior muscles against Heero's probing. It was possible he'd done this before. That idea sent hot fury through Heero's system. He resolved to fuck Duo so thoroughly that he wouldn't even think about turning to anyone else for satisfaction.

Duo picked up the condom from where it had landed, tearing the package open with his teeth. He reached down to roll it open on Heero's dick, his feral grin reminding Heero of battle. As he sunk into Duo's tight heat, it occurred to Heero that Duo approached sex the same way he approached war. He was boisterous, and wild, and vicious. Heero supposed that he actually did the same. He was so focused on Duo that nothing else existed. It was the same sort of focus that he took into missions.

Their merging was as slow as Heero could make it. He drove forward without pausing, drinking in Duo's drawn out groans. The speed of it was probably uncomfortable, if not painful for Duo, but the longhaired boy had experienced a lot of hurt in his life. Heero knew that the pain was secondary to the pleasure, but the pleasure was made better for it. They needed a little pain to ground them.

Heero didn't wait. The moment he was seated against Duo's ass, he pulled out and snapped his hips in again. Duo's legs hooked together behind his back, his thighs gripping Heero's sides in a vice. The skin that touched his was slick, but Heero wasn't sure if it was made that way by blood or sweat. As long as Duo didn't care, he didn't care. He would redo the stitches later if he had to.

Their pace was not meant to last long. Heero thrust into Duo hard and fast, flesh slapping wetly against flesh. Duo gripped his biceps so tightly that his nails left bloody crescents in Heero's skin. They panted and moaned. Duo did most of the moaning, mixing it in with hoarse cries of "more" and "harder" and other things Heero couldn't even understand. As Heero felt the heat gathering low in his stomach, he latched onto Duo's mouth and pushed his tongue inside. Duo returned his kiss with passion and ferocity, biting Heero's lips. The sharp taste of copper found its way onto Heero's tongue.

Heero grabbed Duo's dick with one hand, squeezing and pulling as he growled, "Mine," into Duo's mouth.

Duo screamed in return and his body arched off the bed with his orgasm. His muscles spasmed around Heero, becoming impossibly tighter. Heero grit his teeth, trying and failing to hold off his release. He came up almost off of Duo as his body seized. Every fiber in his body drew taught while scalding pleasure wracked him. His seed pulsed out into the thin rubber of the condom and Heero was almost disappointed that he couldn't leave some claiming mark inside Duo as well.

Slowly, the muscles in Heero's body relaxed and he leaned over Duo. Heero was conscious enough that he knew falling on the other boy would make his wounds worse, so he slipped out of Duo while holding himself up with shaky arms. Duo watched sedately as Heero peeled off the condom and tossed it to the floor.

"I think I get it."

"Get what?" Heero asked as he dropped onto the bed beside Duo.

Duo slid over to make room for him, but scooted back once Heero was comfortable so he could pillow his head on Heero's arm. "Why you came back," Duo yawned.

Heero snorted a little, "Should be obvious." Even as he was getting drowsy, Heero remembered that the gun was in the other room. If someone did manage to find the safe house, they'd be naked and unarmed. Cussing, Heero untangled from Duo and padded into the living room.

"Are you going to sleep on the couch or something, 'cause that makes no sense after what we just did," Duo yelled from the bedroom.

Heero scooped the gun off the coffee table and said, "No. I'll be back in a second."

Double-checking the lock on the front door and looking through the peephole to make sure the hall was still clear, Heero walked back to the bedroom. He put the gun on the nightstand and crawled into bed with his lover. As he got settled, Heero looked down at Duo and said, "Don't make a habit out of this."

"Out of what? Sleeping with you? I can't make any promises on that one," Duo joked sleepily, his words slurring together a little.

"No, getting sho-"

"I know what you mean." Duo sighed and rubbed at the muscle just above his bullet wound. "You're going to have to talk to Oz about that."

Heero smirked, "I plan to."

Duo's quiet chuckle made Heero's smile a touch wider.

There was a chance that Oz would find the safe house. There was a chance that they'd be on the run in a few hours instead of days like they needed. There was a chance that they wouldn't see each other for weeks or months after they left this ratty apartment, but Heero didn't care. He'd weighed the risks and made his decision.

- End

So yeah, this turned out a little longer than I was expecting. This is actually another one of those dusty shelf stories. I wrote the first page and a half several years ago and just now decided to come back and finish it, that's why the first bit sounds a little different from the rest of it.


End file.
